[100k] #17 Choosing The Right Freelancing Niche w/Connie Holen
Connie and Chris discuss choosing the right freelancing niche for your interests, how to avoid burdening your clients with project management, and ways to look at the client discovery process.
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You can find Connie on Twitter and Instagram, or visit her consultancy, Pixality Design.
Highlights:
Started out generalist
Struggled with marketing (time and strategy)
2 years ago, committed to positioning
Started making connections
Prospects started coming to me
Been at it 5 years
Treated choosing the right freelancing niche as a full-time job
Had an interest in fitness & the niche generally
Used a very calculated process to find the niche
* Worked with Philip Morgan in a mentorship
* Tried a couple of other niches before choosing the right freelancing niche
* Eliminated a few industries
* Took 5 months to get fully-positioned
Yoga/fitness needed to offer online scheduling
Industry leader was hard to use
Helping new students have a smooth, clear process
Clients are sold when they call already
Don’t have to close sales
Don’t have to convince
Not talking about process
Comparable proof in the portfolio
Still a struggle to audience-build outside of referrals
80% referrals (due to positioning)
Listed on industry-appropriate directory sites
SEO yields some traffic
* Easier to target SEO after choosing the right freelancing niche
Guest posts
Massage/Day spas/Yoga journals, etc
Outreach to software vendors for referrals
Booker.com* guest post
How to do outreach
* Primary & secondary industry media outlets
* Do some research, check their archives, see if they do guest posts
* Start making a list
* Use submission forms or email contacts
Workflow originally was Basecamp w/standardized messages:
* Changed w the new positioning
* Traditional biz owners
* Don’t want to spend time at the computer
* Got easily overwhelmed
* Now, it’s all email
* I hide the PM software from the client
* I cut & paste the client emails into the system
* Cut & paste standardized messages back
* Project start is a month out from closing & down payment* time for discovery
Discovery:
* It always works out better when you don’t start building right away
* Many business owners don’t have answers for those intake questions
* Clients don’t know they need to know these things until they’re asked
* Checklist of things to do (gathering logins, inspiration image, get a photo shoot scheduled, gather content)
* Give a site map early in the process to help them know what content they need
Full Transcript:
Pending
Originally published at www.100kfreelancing.com.
